A beautifully-constructed, rewarding action adventure that is a lot more than the sum of its parts.
Drawing its influences upon Japanese mythologies, the story revolves around two ninjas whom, under various circumstances, must seek out a legendary sword. Kisuke's a guy who (no surprise here) is something of an amnesiac, and Momohime is a young princess possessed by a demon that controls her every move like a puppet on a string. The two will cross paths at some point, but never adventure together. And through it all, you'll use either a Classic Controller, the traditional Nunchuck/Remote control scheme (which doesn't work too bad, actually) and the GameCube controller. For the most part, controls are fairly tight and responsive--although using the directional pad or analog stick to duck, jump and double jump might take some getting used to. As you fight enemies (who will often appear suddenly without warning), you'll gain experience points and thoroughly strengthen your character, which is quite necessary considering the fact that the game naturally gets a lot tougher as you progress. There are two levels of difficulty you can tool around with and change at any time, so the game is readily accessible to both casual and hardcore gamers.
During the adventure, both Kisuke and Momohime have the opportunity to collect as many as 108 different swords. You're hearing correctly--108! You can do this in two ways--obtaining them after defeating bosses and forging them yourself using spirits and souls you've collected throughout your journey. The swords themselves are not cookie-cutters by any means--each blade possesses different abilities and soul-expending Secret Arts that are a lot of fun to experiment with in a fight. Both ninjas can carry three swords at a time, and there's a bit of a reason for this. Whenever you parry against enemy attacks, your blade loses its Soul Power and will eventually break, temporarily rendering it unusable. So, in essence, you must switch to another sword and let the broken one repair itself overtime in its hilt. Switching blades on the fly during battle also yields an interesting effect--when your swords are at the peak of their Soul Power, you can also unleash a devastating Quick Draw technique that damages all enemies on screen. And you won't be spending the gist of your time fighting demons and all that whatnot. You'll also pay visits to small villages, talk to townsfolk, buy items, even cook food--adding a bit of RPG flair to an otherwise excellent action game.
Muramasa is comprised of over 30 or so different stages all laid out on an overworld map. The visual style is absolutely gorgeous for a Wii game--beautiful yet creepy (like the droll rooftops of a Japanese city, or a Japanese temple riddled with cobwebs) The music by Hitoshi Sakimoto (one of my favorite game musicians) sets the mood of the game with some memorable compositions.
Voice-acting is all in Japanese, emphasizing the game's authenticity.
Overall, the time I've spent with Muramasa: the Demon Blade was well-spent. There's a great deal of challenge to be had, and a surprising amount of depth that carries the game beyond just simply being a button-masher. If you loved Odin Sphere or Grim Grimoire on the PS2, and own a Wii, there's no going wrong with Muramasa.